Authors: Lucy Felthouse
“Hey, hey,” Austin broke into my panic with a calming tone.
“Yes, we think he probably drugged you, but of course he didn’t get anywhere
near you afterward. We’ve already checked the CCTV cameras on that floor of the
hotel, and between Nadia and Mitchell leaving you and me arriving the following
morning, nobody went into or left your room.”
I blew out a heavy breath, not unlike a deflating balloon.
“God, oh thank God. Thank God for Mitchell and Nadia. I
don’t even…”
Austin got up and came around to my side of the desk, placed
his hand gently on my back. “I’m so sorry this happened, honey. Really I am.
I’m as disgusted as you are but I’m also incredibly glad that he didn’t try to get
into your room afterward. It doesn’t excuse what he did, of course, but it
could have been a whole lot worse.”
He rubbed my back in an attempt to soothe me. I appreciated
the gesture, I really did, but the horror of what I’d just been told continued
to turn my insides alternately to ice and mush. Now my heart ached for what
other women had been through at the hands of that…that…words couldn’t even
describe him. Not even the really bad ones I would never say in front of my
mother.
Finally, after I’d worked through all the emotions,
processed them, come to terms with them, I pulled myself together as much as I
could. “Okay,” I said, straightening up and turning to look at Austin, who
still stood by my side. “What do I do now? How can I help nail this bastard so
he gets locked up and can’t hurt an innocent woman ever again?”
Austin’s face twisted into a grimace and he moved to the
nearest side of the desk to me and leaned on it. “Honey, I’m sorry, but there’s
not much you can do, I don’t think. Because of the amount of time that’s
elapsed, the drugs won’t show up in any tests. There’s no evidence at all that
this happened to you, other than eyewitness accounts showing that one minute
you were okay and the next you seemed excessively drunk. It’s only because of
your little outburst that when this all came out, one of the other members of
staff remembered it and suggested that the same thing could have happened to
you. That was when the manager pulled my number from the hotel records and
called.”
“B-but…” I could scarcely believe it. The bastard couldn’t
be allowed to get away with it. “Okay, so how has this suddenly come to light?
And how many women has that scumbag attacked?”
“I’ll have to be blunt, honey.”
I nodded. “I understand. Go ahead.”
“Well, the hotel management is working with the police to
piece everything together, so they don’t have the full picture yet. But what
they did tell me was that they think he’s been getting away with it because
women have been embarrassed to come forward. Lone women have woken up in the
hotel feeling…you know…as though they’ve had sex but with no memory of having
done so. Unfortunately they’ve then drawn the conclusion that they got far too
drunk and had consensual sex. Clearly there’s no reason to talk to anyone about
consensual sex, no cause for concern. But apparently this guy slipped up
somehow. He thought he was ‘helping out’ a woman staying at the hotel by
herself but he got interrupted by her roommate. Fortunately just in time. Then,
of course, everything blew up in his face. Suspicions were aroused, other staff
started putting the pieces together and now the police are working on figuring
out how many women he has attacked and who they are.”
“He’s not confessed?”
“He’s confessed to doing it but he says he doesn’t know most
of their names.”
I let out a sound somewhere between a squeak and a growl.
“Oh, that’s convenient, isn’t it? So is someone going to call back when they
know more? Do they have my number?”
Austin nodded. “Yeah. I mean, there’s a chance you’ll be
called on to testify but you know what court systems are like—it’ll take a
while. But hopefully, if enough evidence is gathered, you won’t have to. He’s
in custody at the moment, as he was arrested after the woman walked in on him
and her friend.”
I frowned. “Thank God she walked in when she did. Those poor
women. So you said that CCTV proved he didn’t get anywhere near me. But can it
prove that he did go near the other women? Are they using that to track the
other victims down?”
“Honey, I’m sorry, I don’t know. I’ve told you everything I
know. They have your details now and they’ll contact you directly, I imagine,
going forward. I’m just glad they called me in the first instance so I could
break it to you instead of some stranger telling you on the phone.”
I gave him a grateful smile and got to my feet. “Yes, me
too. Thank you. I really appreciate your support. Right, I’d better get
going—Nadia’s waiting for me.” I was just using the fact to get out of his
office, if I were honest with myself. Given what I’d just discovered, the last
thing on my mind was my potential budding romance. The insane lust I’d felt
just twenty minutes ago had evaporated into nothing. All I wanted was to get
back to my apartment, lock the door and sob into my pillow. It was silly, I
knew, given that the evil bastard hadn’t actually seen his plan through to the
end, but somehow I still felt violated.
I also felt guilt. Guilt that other women had become victims
of his vile sexual depravity and I’d escaped it. Guilt that I was grateful he
hadn’t succeeded with me as he had with them.
By now I was almost at the door.
“Virginia, sweetie?”
I paused, hoping that the smile fixed on my face would
remain at least until I was alone. Turning to face him, I replied, “Yes,
Austin?”
“I owe you an apology. For that night and what happened
afterward. I got it wrong, thought you’d been irresponsible. But it was all
down to that…that…bastard. Sorry, but that’s mild compared to how I really feel
about him.” He grimaced. “I am truly sorry, honey, and I hope you’ll forgive me
for doubting you. Needless to say, you’re no longer on probation. Please
continue as you were before this whole thing started.”
I frowned. “You have nothing to apologize for. Even
I
thought
I’d had too much to drink and made an idiot of myself, so I definitely can’t
blame anyone else for thinking it. The fault lies entirely with
him
.What’s
his name, by the way?” For some reason I wanted to know the name of the
disgusting human being who had tried to ruin my life.
“Chase. Chase Hartsock.” Austin didn’t look pleased about
divulging the information but he knew he had no right to withhold it, and
besides I’d find out soon enough. It was bound to be on the news. And the
police would be calling me for more information, probably an official statement
too. “I still feel bad, though, about what happened. Since you’ve been here you’ve
been such a good team player, a good person, that I was shocked when it
happened, but my eyes—and those of others around—didn’t lie. So please just
accept my apologies. I’ll feel marginally better if you do.”
This time my smile was real. I held no grudge against the
man—he’d been nothing but good to me. Crossing the room again, I leaned down
and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Apology accepted. Please don’t worry about it
anymore. We’re good, okay?”
He nodded. “Thank you. Now off you go. I don’t want to hold
you up any further. But don’t forget, sweetie, that if you need to talk to me,
or need my help in any other way, please come to me. And if you need to
schedule a session—or several—with the academy psychiatrist, then you have my
absolute blessing. In fact, if that’s what you want, I encourage it. I want you
to be okay.”
“Thanks, Austin, but I’ll be fine. I just need to get over
the initial shock but I’ll be fine.”
He shrugged. “Okay. But remember what I said.”
“I will, thanks.” With that I turned again and this time
made it out of the door. I closed it behind me, then dashed down the corridor
and repeatedly slammed the button for the elevator, as though that would make
it arrive faster. I needed to get home immediately. I could go and lock myself
in a toilet cubicle, of course, but sooner or later I’d be discovered. And I
didn’t want to be—I didn’t want anyone. What I wanted was to cry and scream and
shout. Alone.
Finally the car arrived and I sprang in and repeated the
process with the button for the ground floor, once again thankful that the
place was so empty. I hadn’t cracked yet but I was on the very edge. It
wouldn’t take much to make me burst into tears and I was sure I looked an utter
sight.
Once I hit the ground floor I strode out and along the
corridor, back toward the women’s changing rooms. Obviously I wanted to get
straight out of the place but I needed my car keys. I could walk home—run, even—but
leaving my car in the lot would make people think I was still at the academy
and cause all kinds of confusion when it came to nighttime. Even Los Carlos
Academy slept, for a few hours at least.
Heat prickled at my tear ducts as I made my way toward the
changing rooms. I didn’t dare to blink as I pushed open the door, got to my
locker, retrieved my keys and bag and left again. I kept my eyes wide open as I
headed for the exit and emerged into the car park. My vision started to blur as
I approached my car, and I momentarily closed my eyes. Fortunately the tears
were still hanging on by a thread, and I prayed that would be the case until I
got inside my apartment and locked the door.
Taking deep breaths, I unlocked the car and dumped my bag on
the passenger seat as I climbed in. Then I started the engine, pulled on my
seat belt and drove out of the lot as carefully as possible.
The journey home was a blur. It was nothing to do with my
eyes, more the fact that my brain was swimming—drowning, actually—in the
information I had just been given. Someone had planned to rape me.
Chase
Hartsock
had planned to rape me. Just because he hadn’t succeeded didn’t
mean he wasn’t evil, didn’t mean he didn’t deserve to be punished. For now,
though, I just had to process the information, deal with it the best way I knew
how and get on with my life. I couldn’t sit around moping about it, because
that way he’d won, in my opinion. No, I was going to have my little meltdown as
soon as I got home, then I was going to get right back to normal.
If I was needed in the investigation in any way, obviously
I’d be there. In the meantime, though, I’d throw myself into my career. Perhaps
get in touch with some rape or women’s charities and raise awareness of date-rape
drugs. Provide support to women who had been affected by them. I’d turn what
he’d done into something good if it killed me.
There was no way in hell I was letting that fucker affect my
life any more than he had already. No fucking way.
After what felt like hours but was actually less than ten
minutes, I arrived home. I motored into the underground car park, put my car in
its space and took the elevator up to my floor. I saw a couple of other
residents and exchanged smiles and greetings but mercifully no one was feeling
particularly chatty.
Jogging up the corridor, I already had the key in my hand,
and slotted it right into the hole as I got there. I stepped through the door
and closed it carefully behind me, locked it, tossed the keys into the bowl I
kept on the sideboard, dropped my bag where I stood and headed straight for my
bedroom.
Once there, I stripped down to my underwear and climbed
under the duvet, pulled it up over my head and let go. The prickling heat in my
tear ducts turned into fire, and before long hot tears poured down my face.
Silent at first, I let the grief overtake me, let myself sink into it until the
sobs came, growing more forceful by the second. There was nothing but the pain,
the guilt, the shock, the anger. I let them roam free, knowing that once I’d
poured out all my grief I’d feel better. Much better than if I’d kept it
bottled up.
I’d wallow for the rest of the day, eat junk food, watch
crap TV, have a bath, drink wine. The same sort of things you’d do after a bad
breakup. Except this was worse than a breakup. So much fucking worse.
My tears were still mid-torrent when I heard a knock at my
apartment door.
Fuck! Really? I’ve been here months and no one has
darkened my doorstep. Why now?
I ignored it, hoping whoever it was would go away. It had to
be someone from the academy, because I didn’t know anyone else in the area. And
given that so many of them were away on vacation, that narrowed the choices
down considerably. Austin, Mitchell, Nadia and a handful of others.
Sighing, I came to the conclusion that it had to be Nadia.
I’d left Austin’s office looking okay—or so I thought. He had no reason to come
to my apartment. And I didn’t think Mitchell even knew where I lived. I
certainly didn’t know where he lived. Nadia had been waiting for me in the
cafeteria, to the best of my knowledge, so when I hadn’t reappeared she’d
probably gone looking for me, spoken to Austin and found out he’d sent me home.
I wondered whether he’d told her why I’d been sent home. She
had been involved, after all. Or would he have decided it was my story to tell,
if I wanted to tell it?
Another knock came, louder and more frantic this time.
“Virginia, I know you’re in there.” Nadia’s voice.
How? How did she know I was in there?
“I saw you zooming out of the parking lot at one hundred
miles an hour. I followed you here and your car is in your slot. It doesn’t
take a genius.”
Oh bollocks. So she hadn’t spoken to Austin, then?
“Virginia! Let me in. What the hell is going on?” She
paused. “Is it me?”
Shit. Given that she had no idea what Austin had just told
me, she’d presumed that my disappearance had something to do with her. Or more
accurately what we’d just done.
Wiping my eyes, I stumbled hastily out of bed. I couldn’t let
her get the wrong idea—it wasn’t fair. Not to mention the fact that tomorrow
I’d be okay. I’d wake up in the morning feeling better, having gotten the shock
out of my system. Everything would be back to normal and I’d be eager to pick
up where Nadia and I had left off. I wasn’t going to let that go down the
toilet just because of some scumbag.
“Hang on!” I called, hoping she’d hear me. Then I scrambled
for the clothes I’d discarded even though part of me wondered why I was
bothering. The woman had seen me naked—touched me, for heaven’s sake.
Once I’d put on some clothes, I headed for the door,
scraping my hands through my hair. I must have looked an utter fright but there
wasn’t really anything I could do about it. Not unless I made her wait outside
the door for fifteen minutes while I did my hair and makeup.
Ugh.
I’d
just have to let her see me in a state and hope it didn’t scare her off for
good.
Brushing the backs of my hands over my eyes again, I took a
deep breath and opened the door. I immediately stood back to let Nadia in then
closed the door behind her.
“Shit,” she said, after taking one look at me. “What the
hell happened? Did Austin kick you out or something? He can’t have done!”
The sight of her, and her concern, set me off crying for the
umpteenth time. I walked over to the sofa and flopped down onto it. Joining me,
Nadia exclaimed, “Son of a bitch! He didn’t, did he? I’m gonna go back there,
gonna tell him he’s got it all wrong, that you’re brilliant, that your talent
shouldn’t be wasted, that he’ll regret it—”
She stopped when I clapped a hand over her mouth. I couldn’t
think of what to say to stop her, and even if I could, I couldn’t have voiced
the words over my sobs. Satisfied she’d shut up for now, I moved my hand away
and sucked in a shaky breath, hoping I could hold it together for long enough
to explain to her.
“He hasn’t kicked me out. It’s nothing to do with Austin.
And it’s definitely nothing to do with you.” I squeezed her hand and gave a
small smile. “It’s something Austin told me. Now please will you hear me out
without interrupting? As you’ve probably guessed I’m having a bit of a hard
time here.”
Squeezing back, she gave me an encouraging smile. “Yeah, go
for it. I won’t say a word.”
Closing my eyes for a second, I tried my best to get a grip.
It was bad enough that this thing had happened, never mind having to repeat the
story, but Nadia deserved to know. Even before what had happened earlier she’d
been my friend, and if it hadn’t been for her and Mitchell…well, I didn’t even
want to think about it.
“Okay…” My tone sounded surer than I’d thought it would be
and I took strength from that and plunged into telling the story before my
nerve failed me.
I avoided looking at Nadia as I spoke, knowing that her
facial expressions—her shock, her dismay, her pity—would put me off. And
probably set me off crying again too. So I stared intently at my hands the
entire time, looking up and meeting her gaze only when I was done.
What I saw in her eyes, in her expression, was absolutely
not what I had been expecting. She looked
furious
.
“Can I speak now?”
I nodded.
“That
bastard
! Words don’t even describe… It’s bad
enough what he did to you, or tried to do, but the fact he’s actually succeeded
with other women… It makes me sick.
He
makes me sick. He needs
castrating.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. I feel sick, Nadia. When
Austin told me I managed to hold it together for the most part. When we were
done talking I just wanted to come back here and be alone. I’m sorry I left you
in the cafeteria, I just…”
“Hey.” She slipped her arm around my back and pulled me
close. “You have
nothing
to apologize for. I understand, honey. I just
wanted to make sure you were okay. Your face as you drove off… I could tell
there was something wrong. Really wrong. I get why you wanted to be alone too.
You want me to leave? I don’t wanna go, don’t wanna leave you, but if that’s
what you want, I will.”
I shook my head then leaned it on her shoulder. “No. Stay,
please. Ask me any questions about it that you want, then can we please change
the subject?”
She dropped a kiss onto my hair. “Of course I’ll stay. But I
don’t have any questions. Except for one. Are you gonna be all right? Is there
anything I can do? Balls, that was two. Sorry.”
In spite of my mood I let out a giggle. Lifted my head and
looked at her. “I’ll be all right, I promise. It’s just shock that sent me into
meltdown. And the thought of what could have happened. And guilt that it
happened to other women and I was lucky. The plan was to wallow today, to let
the tears fall, the anger come out, whatever. Then tomorrow I’d get on with my
life. He doesn’t deserve to affect me any more than that. He doesn’t deserve to
affect me at all but I can’t help it…”
“Oh honey. I don’t know what else to say.” She stroked my
hair. The gentle affection forced a lump into my throat but I swallowed hard
and managed to get rid of it.
“There’s nothing you can say. Just stay with me. That’s what
you can do—you can stay with me today. Call Austin, tell him where you are. He
won’t be mad.”
She shrugged. “I don’t care if he is. You need me, so I’m
here.” Retrieving her phone from her pocket, she placed the call.
I stood and headed to the kitchen area, put some water in
the kettle and switched it on. Then I set about making two cups of milky,
sugary tea. It was British to the extreme, I knew, but I didn’t care. Anything
that would make me feel better was appreciated.
By the time I returned to the sofa with the tea, Nadia had
finished her call. She smiled gratefully as I handed her the mug. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. What did he say?”
“He said he was glad that you weren’t alone and that I was
to stay as long as you needed me and not worry about training.”
I raised an eyebrow. “That was nice of him. He’d better hope
I don’t need you for the next six months.”
She grinned. “My tennis would suffer, sure, but hey, who
cares?”
I nudged her playfully. “
I
care. About both of us.
But like I said, today is all that bastard is getting. Then tomorrow I’m back
in that academy, back on that court, with a vengeance.”
“I both love and hate the sound of that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I love it because I don’t want you to let him get to you
either. And I hate it because you with a vengeance, with fire in your belly,
are a contender who’s capable of whupping my ass.”
I laughed. “Worried about your reputation, Gorlando?”
“Nah. Just wondering if it’s too late to switch to playing
doubles. Be my partner?”
We laughed together and I suddenly realized just how glad I
was that she was there. Sure, my plan of hiding under the covers would have
worked out just fine but this was better. Way better. Somehow she’d assessed my
feelings perfectly and was acting accordingly. She wasn’t telling me to buck up
and get over it, nor was she allowing me to drown in a tub of ice cream or a bottle
of wine. Together we’d found a nice balance, and the fact that she was there
for me even when I hadn’t known I’d needed her gave me hope for the future. Our
future.
“Hey,” I said when our mirth had dissipated. “One more thing
before we change the subject.”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you?”
“Yes. For being here, for running after me. I thought I
didn’t need anyone. Perhaps I thought I didn’t
have
anyone. But you
proved me wrong on both counts. So thank you.”
Reaching out, she stroked my hair again. Then, grabbing a
handful, she tugged it lightly before cradling my head and pulling me close.
“No problem.” Her voice was quiet, husky. “It’s my pleasure.” She paused and I
felt sure she was going to kiss me. I hoped she would. Instead she spoke again.
“Earlier, when I said this wasn’t just about sex for me, I meant it. I’ve liked
you for ages, V. I liked you as a person almost as soon as I met you. But the
more time we spent together, the more those feelings grew beyond friendship. I
had no idea whether you were into women, though, so I kept quiet. As time went
on I got some hints about your sexuality but I still couldn’t be sure. What
happened earlier… I took a gamble. I didn’t know whether it would pay off, but
I’m glad it did. What we did was amazing and I’d very much like for it to
happen again, but on a more regular, exclusive basis.”
“Nadia, what are you saying? I thought you Americans were
meant to be direct.”
She laughed, pulled me even closer and kissed me, quickly,
chastely, then moved away again. “How’s that for direct? I’m saying I want you
to be my girlfriend, I guess. Mine alone. And to be yours alone.”
“Uh, well, there’s no one else for me, but okay. Yes, I’ll
be your girlfriend. Though I have to ask, are we going public?”
“That’s up to you, honey. I’m okay with it but I understand
why you might not want to right now. You’ve got a lot going on.”
Relief coursed through my body. “I appreciate that. Let’s
just hang on until this thing with New York has blown over a little and we’ll
see how the land lies. Does the academy have any rules about this kind of
thing?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s encouraged, but it’s not forbidden
either. Just as well, really, given the men’s number one seed is marrying the
psychologist, and I noticed that Peter Ross and Rufus Lampani are getting
pretty damn friendly too. Ha—it looks as if the academy has one of each.”
“One of each?”
“Yeah. A straight couple, a lesbian couple and a gay couple.
Talk about equal rights.”
I sniggered. “I thought something very similar a while back.”
Her gaze zeroed in on mine. “You thought about me? About
being a couple?”
“You know damn well I did. Now come here.” Cupping the back
of her neck, I closed the gap between us, slanted my mouth over hers. She
smelled of shampoo and shower gel, and my dirty mind couldn’t help wondering
if, between her thighs, she still smelled of sex. We’d been rushed out of the
shower after our sexy session, after all.
Slowly, but with plenty of passion, we kissed. Lips parting,
tongues sliding sensuously, exploring. Nibbling, sucking, moaning. I gripped
her neck tighter, pulled her harder onto me, deepened the kiss further, pouring
everything I felt for her into it. Appreciation, lust, need. Love.
The word stumbled through my mind but I didn’t let it
distract me from what I was doing. I let it float there, unquestioned, as I tried
to figure out whether that was what I was feeling. I knew hormones, fondness
and lust for someone could combine into something akin to love, and with the
emotions that had flooded through my brain in the past couple of hours, it
wouldn’t be such a surprise if I was confused.